(i) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a grass cutting mower attachment in a vehicle which is adapted to be activated to move quickly laterally to the right or to the left of the vehicle and/or up or down vertically of the vehicle.
(ii) Description of the Prior Art
Up to the present time the most versatile grass cutting machines require the operator to move the complete vehicle in a series of maneuvers around obstacles. This constant maneuvering can be nauseating, tiring and time consuming. There are now a number of mower devices which have been adapted for mounting on vehicles and include some form of retraction and extension apparatus for moving the mowers or saws towards and away from the vehicle. Some such retractable mower devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,719,081, issued to Allen et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,662,561, issued to Duncan, U.S. Pat. No. 2,699,635, issued to Burton, U.S. Pat. No. 2,601,366, issued to Chapman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,003,299, issued to Smith et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,061,996 issued to Ripps, U.S. Pat. No. 3,274,762 issued to Jolls, U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,789, issued to Cartner, U.S. Pat. No. 2,997,835, issued to Stewart, U.S. Pat. No. 2,840,974 issued to Dunn et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,580 issued to Truax et al. The mowers of the patents issued to Allen, Duncan, Burton, Chapman, and Smith are equipped with mechanical retraction devices, and the mowers shown in the patents issued to Ripps, Jolls, Cartner, Stewart, Dunn, and Truax are equipped with hydraulic retraction mechanisms.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,063,226 issued to E. M. Pfauser, a riding type rotary mower is disclosed having the housing of a rotary cutting unit suspended beneath the mower by means including a parallel linkage arrangement. The mower is capable of traversing uneven terrain, and for this purpose, runners are provided at the edges of the housing to lift the cutter housing when a runner rides over a mound. The drive shafts to the rotary mower blades are provided with splines so that as the housing raises, the drive shafts telescope. Also, the axes of the links of the parallel suspension linkage are set at an angle with the vertical of approximately 70.degree. which permit slight rearward movement of the cutter housing as the housing raises.
The suspension mechanism of the rotary mower structure disclosed in such patent is designed to elevate the cutter unit rather than to displace it rearwardly because the couplings and the linkage accommodate only slight rearward movement. Thus, upon striking an obstacle, e.g., a rock, with a part of the cutter housing other than the runners, the cutter housing would respond substantially in the manner of the conventional rear-pivoted cutter bar assemblies.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,405 disclosed a multi-blade cutting head supported by a tractor towed trailer moving along and guided by a guard rail for mowing thereunder. Telescoping and pivoting arms, extending above and beyond the upper limit of the guard rail, supported a mowing head rotatable about a vertical axis when encountering a guard rail post.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,377 patented Aug. 7, 1973 by J. R. Clark provided a weed cutting attachment secured to a tractor angled at approximately 45.degree. with respect to the direction of travel, rides beneath the surface of the soil cutting the weeds. A plurality of these blades were equiangularly disposed about a rotatably positionable platform. The platform was angled with respect to horizontal such that only one blade was in contact with the soil at any one position of the platform. A feeler extended forwardly of the platform to detect any trees in the path of the cutting blade. Upon detection of a tree, the feeler tripped a release mechanism, which permitted the platform to rotate due to the drag of the embedded blade. Rotation of the platform will, because of the angular relationship of the platform, the blades, and the soil, cause the then embedded blade to rotate and rise above the soil. Simultaneously, another of the cutting blades will be rotated until it came into contact with the soil and embedded itself to resume the weed cutting function. During the rotation of the platform, the position of the tree with respect to the moving platform was such that the cutting blades passed on either side of the tree, thereby preventing them from inflicting damage to the tree.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,043 patented May 21, 1985 by J. F. Anderson et al provided a retractable in-row tiller device that had a parallelogram carriage structure for supporting the outrigger arm and tiller and for retracting and extending the outrigger arm and tiller in relation to the tractor on which it was mounted. It also included an electro-hydraulic control system with a single wand plant feeler device that provided accurate and responsive automatic control to guide the tiller around plants and which can be overridden and operated manually with ease and accurateness. It also included an automatic positive depth control feature operated electro-hydraulically by a gauge wheel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,255 patented May 31, 1988 by R. Roder provided an agricultural mower which included a parallel linkage suspension mechanism for the cutter assembly, the suspension mechanism including swing arms which, in the use position, were substantially vertically-oriented, enabling the cutter assembly, upon striking an object, to respond by moving quickly rearwardly relative to the forwardly travelling main frame, and then, as the pendulum action continued, to elevate the cutter assembly above the obstruction to a clearing height. In the use position, the cutter bar and guards were directed down and forward defining the lowest and leading part of the cutter assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,508 patented Feb. 20, 1990 by D. L. Wheatly provided a mower for mowing vegetation under a fence supported above the surface of the earth by a series of spaced posts. The mower included a horizontal boom connected at one end with a prime mower and supporting a mowing head at its other end. The mowing head was pivotal about vertical and horizontal axes so that when contacting one of the fence posts, the mowing head pivoted around the position of the post while drawn by the prime mover in a forward direction. The mowing head was angularly tilted vertically for mowing a fence row or other surface on an incline with respect to the surface of the earth supporting the prime over.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,107 patented Jul. 30, 1991 by J. H. Scarborough provided a rotary lawn mower having a trimming attachment for trimming around fence posts and the like is provided. The trimming attachment assembly included an auxiliary trimming blade mounted in a housing and attached to a swing arm assembly, mounted on the primary mower housing. In the forward position, the trimming attachment extended outwardly from, but slightly overlapped, the mowed path of the primary mower. As a fence post or the like adjacent the primary mower was encountered by the trimming attachment assembly, the trimming attachment assembly was pushed rearwardly by the obstruction and swung into the mowed path of the primary mower, during which process the grass near the fence post was cut. As the fence post or other object was passed, an actuator assembly forced the trimming assembly back into its original forward auxiliary cutting position.